Creating a summer program for high school students entering SIUC, and intervening in probationary students’ academic schedule are two of the recommendations that came out of random faculty focus groups in November.

The focus groups, conducted by SIUC Chancellor Donald Beggs and the four vice chancellors, were designed to gain input from untapped faculty who do not participate in the organized structures.

The administrators questioned the randomly chosen 190 faculty members about recruitment, retention and the University’s image. Faculty recommendations included all topics ranging from decreasing out-of-state tuition, which is being considered, to increasing the technology infrastructure at SIUC.

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A summary of the discussion released Friday stated that the University should develop a bridge program from high school to the University.

Beggs said the faculty focus groups were successful because 95 percent of the faculty contacted participated.

Several of the faculty were of the opinion that if we were to establish an organized program for new students to attend school during the summer after their high school graduation that not only could recruitment be enhanced, but quite possibly retention, the summary states.

Beggs said a similar program existed at SIUC about 20 years ago, but that it only focused on students with academic problems.

At the time it was trying to encourage marginal students to come here early, and a bridge program is much more than that, he said. The purpose would be to help students acclimate to a university setting, become familiar with the campus, and in some cases find out what it is like to be at a University.

Administrators are considering implementing a bridge program by summer of 1999.

That would be the earliest, Beggs said. But first we have to look at if we can staff such a program.

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Faculty also recommended that administrators better aid students in academic trouble.

Failing students are placed on probation. They then take the courses they have registered for next semester with no intervention, and if they do not make the grades next semester, they are suspended.

So what the provost and I talked about, and have been encouraged to do by faculty in these groups, is when students go on probation it is a sign of a problem, so let’s try to help them before they get too far in trouble,’ Beggs said.

Beggs said administrators are planning to implement a program that would require students on probation to take a mandatory class. The class would focus on teaching students good study habits and how to use a syllabus, and could be developed as early as fall 1998.

Faculty also cautioned administrators to regulate recruitment drives for students so that enrollment does not increase to unmanageable levels and classes do not become overcrowded.

The key for all this is providing a quality environment for learning and reaching that still allows faculty for research, he said.

Beggs has conducted similar discussions with civil service workers and will meet with administrative and professional staff this week.

Judith Aydt, an assistant professor in foreign languages and literature who participated in the faculty focus groups, said the session was a step in the right direction.

Well, I think basically I’ll take a wait-and-see attitude to see what comes out of them, she said. If something productive comes out of it, I will be very happy.

Beggs said that in the discussions, many faculty echoed similar comments, and that the administration would try to act on the recommendations if it has not already.

Tom Britton, vice chancellor for Institutional Advancement, said he already has acted on one of the recommendations. He is working with a business professor to develop a survey for the University’s image.

Britton said that overall, the discussions were informative.

There were not as many negatives as one might think, and I’m already acting on some of the ideas that came out of the discussions, he said. These have demonstrated that faculty are concerned about students and are willing to work on the University’s image.